Expert drone operator and instructor Garret Bryl is teaching about a dozen Burleson firefighters how to operate drones.

Bryl's drone cost more than $4,000, but the "training" drones that the firefighters are practicing on cost significantly less. The firefighters who want to be licensed drone operators must go through dozens of hours of practice time and classroom instruction in order to receive certification.

"It's a very high-tech way of doing something primitive," he said. "But we can do it with much more accuracy. Firefighters for ages have practiced throwing a rescue line or a preserver down a river or across a creek to save someone, but it's an imperfect science. With this drone, I usually can drop a preserver within a few inches of where I want it to be."

Bryl said he used his drone throughout Johnson County four times during the May flooding to help save people trapped in high water.

He performed a live demonstration on NBC 5 by dropping a life-vest to a firefighter pretending to be trapped in a creek bed.

"This drone can deliver rescue lines, life preservers, we have spotlights on there. It's just a great tool of information for firefighters and police," Bryl said.

And with more rain in the forecast through the weekend, Bryl is ready to deploy his drone wherever it's needed.